Large-capacity liquid storage tanks



p 0, 1969 J. BRUCKER LARGE-CAPACITY LIQUID STORAGE TANKS 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Oct. 4, 1967 Sept. 30, 1969 J. BRUCKER 3,469,731

LARGE-CAPACITY LIQUID STORAGE TANKS Filed Oct. 4, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Sept. 30,1969 J. BRUCKER 3,469,731

LARGE-CAPACITY LIQUID STORAGE TANKS Filed on. 4. 1967 s Sheets-Sheet 5United States Patent LARGE-CAPACITY LIQUID STORAGE TANKS JacquesBrucker, Paris, France, assignor to Constructeurs Associes Pour LeMontage dOuvrages Metalliques (C.A.M.O.M.) Societe Anonyme, Paris,France Filed Oct. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 672,758 Claims priority, applicationFrance, Oct. 25, 1966, 81,500, Patent 1,504,728 Int. Cl. B65d 87/18 US.Cl. 22026 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Large-capacity metal tankfor the storage of liquids, which comprises a cylindrical vertical sidewall of thin corrugated sheet made of a succession of adjacent channelsopening toward the center of the tank and interconnected bysemi-cylindrical sections of relatively small radius, an upper annularbelt covering the side wall channels, an annular bottom belt made ofradially disposed welded sheets, a fixed or floating roof having thesame cross-sectional contour as the inner face of the vertical sidewall, and a bottom made of thin sheets having Overlapping welded jointswhich is connected to said bottom belt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present inventionrelates to a large-capacity metal tank, notably for the storage ofliquids, of which the side wall, the roof and the bottom, made ofrelatively thin light metal sheets, are arranged to withstand theconsiderable stress due to the liquid content.

Description of the prior art Two factors are now limiting the increasein the storage capacity of tanks:

(1) The thickness of the sheets constituting the lower hoops, whichvaries in proportion to the tank diameter and to the height of itscasing or side wall;

(2) The tank height depending on the firmness of the soils underneath.

This invention relates to a large-capacity storage tank of which theside wall or casing and the roof are modified to permit the use ofrelatively thin and therefore light sheets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this tank the side wall or casing consistsof a series of curved elements, for example in the form ofhalfcylindrical sections having a relatively short radius of curvaturewhich are calculated as shell beams adapted to transfer stress to theupper and lower annular belts.

The side Wall having a corrugated sheet-metal structure withsmall-radius connecting curves permits the use of relatively thinsheets, of which the thickness is independent of the tank radius.

By way of example, in the case of a tank having the followingdimensions: height=33 feet, radius=16 /z ft., the casing or side wallcan be constructed by using 6- mm. or A thick sheets.

The adjacent elements of the structure can be assembled by using asemi-cylindrical tube of relatively short radius, for example .4 m. or13", this semi-cylindrical tube having the same thickness as the otherparts of the casing.

The roof of the tank according to this invention may be of either thefixed or floating type.

The fixed roof may comprise:

(a) An upper annular belt also acting as a roof to the side wallchannels.

3,469,731 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 ice The primary function of this upperannular belt is to transfer to a ring structure the stress directed tothe tank top along the side wall thereof. This belt may consist forexample of a horizontal sheet covering the complete series of side wallelements and of a pair of vertical sheets welded along the edges of thefirst sheet so as to provide a radial section having substantially theshape of a horizontal I. The dimensions of this belt are calculated as afunction of the head stress and tank diameter.

(b) The roof proper which covers the inner portion of the tank and isconstructed according to any known and conventional means, such as steelstructural work or timber-work, and roofing elements.

Thus, for example, this roof may consist of a post or upright structurecovered by relatively thin metal sheets, or of a non-radial light-weightironwork covered by thin sheets and calculated to constitute aself-supporting vault.

The advantage resulting from this last solution resides in the fact thatit provides a tubular structure adapted not only to support the sheetsbut also to constitute the main component elements of the piping systemfor distributing foam in case of fire, which must be speciallycalculated to permit the delivery of the requisite foam density withinthe shortest possible time.

The floating roof has the same horizontal cross-section as the innerface of the tank wall on which it is fitted, and by which it is guided.

Alternately, an inner wall in which a floating roof of conventional typeis inserted may also be welded to the joints of the casing corrugations.

The tank bottom may also consist similarly of two different portions,namely:

(a) An external ring adapted not only to seal the inner space of thetank but also to receive the stress transmitted by the side wall to thebase of the tank.

The dimensions of this external ring depend on the stress transmittedthereby and also on the tank diameter.

It may consist of a series of radially disposed sheets welded end toend.

(b) The tank bottom proper, covering the inner portion, constructedaccording to the conventional method with thin sheets having Weldedoverlapping joints.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Several typical examples of a tankconstruction according to this invention will now be described withreference to the attached drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of the tank comprising a fixed roof inthis example;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view and fragmentary horizontal section of the samestructure, the section being taken upon the line II-II of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical section of a fixedroof tank having anannular belt;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section showing a tank wall element with acorrugated side wall and a floating roof;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section taken along the line VV of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a section taken along the line VIVI of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a detail View;

FIGURE 8 is a horizontal section showing a tank wall element with acylindrical portion internal;

FIGURE 9 is a vertical section taken along the line IXIX of FIGURE 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The cylindrical metal tankillustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 consists essentially of a corrugatedcylindrical vertical side wall, that is, a wall made of a series ofadjacent semi-cylindrical sections 1 Opening to the inside andinterconected by semi-cylindrical tubes 2 of relatively very smallradius, so that the wall stresses are transferred to the upper andbottom belts 3 and 4 respectively.

The upper belt 3 comprising horizontally-disposed sheet elements mayhave a horizontal section in the form of a horizontal I, with thehorizontal web 7 of said belt covering the cell assembly 2.

The bottom belt 4 comprising welded sheet elements cooperates with theupper belt 3 to receive the stress transmitted from the side wall.

The tank bottom may consist in a conventional manner of sheets 5.

The fixed roof may be supported by a framework 10 supported in turn byposts or uprights 11 and receiving a sheet roofing structure 12.

This roof may consist of a cupola providing a selfsupporting roofstructure.

If a floating roof 18 is desired, the cross-sectional contour thereofmay be calculated to correspond to the internal cross-sectional contourof the tank bounded laterally by the corrugated side wall structure(FIGURES 4 and in this case, seals 13 must be provided between the roofedge and the bottom of the corrugations 1 (FIGURE 6) and guide meanssuch as rollers 14 secured to the roof edge in alignment with thesmaller half-tubes 2 interconnecting adjacent corrugations are provided.

A modified form of embodiment of the tank structure of this inventionconsists in welding an inner wall 15 to the tubular members orsemi-cylindrical-tubes 2 of the side walls; this inner wall (see FIGURES8 and 9) is notched or apertured at its bottom to permit the fluidcommunication between the cells formed thereby and the central tankspace. Valve means 16 are provided in the upper belt 3 above each cellto permit the expansion of the gaseous content overlying the storageliquid 17 in the space provided between the side Wall corrugations 1 andthe inner wall 15. This inner wall 15 is adapted to act as a guide tothe floating roof 18.

It is clear that irrespective of the type of tank contemplated, as wellas of its shape and cross-sectional dimensions, and of the type offloating or fixed roof, the use of a corrugated side wall securedbetween the top and bottom belts, with or without using an internalcylindrical wall, permits of transferring to said belts the stress received by the side wall which may thus be relatively thin and light inweight, especially if it lies between two chambers receiving the samefluid pressure (FIGURES 8 and 9).

If a very high tank is contemplated, it is possible to superpose twoside walls by welding to the top belt another series of corrugations tobe subsequently covered in turn with another top belt.

Under these conditions, the tank side wall consists of:

A bottom belt,

A first side wall,

An intermediate belt, An upper side wall, A top belt,

each side wall consisting of course of corrugated sheets interconnectedby half-cylinders of which the radius is dependent on the desiredstrength of the side wall.

The cells described and illustrated herein may have a semi-circularconfiguration in cross-section, or any other suitable curvature, and theside wall or inner wall proper may be cylindrical or of revolution.

What I claim is:

1. A large capacity metal tank for storage of liquid comprising, agenerally cylindrical sidewall of lightweight corrugated sheet metal,the corrugations of said side wall defining vertically extendingchannels opening into the interior of said tank, an annular beltcovering said sidewall comprising a metallic ring having in radial crosssection the shape of a horizontally disposed I, said ring having its webportion overlying and covering the ends of said channels defined by thecorrugations of said sidewall, a roof covering the interior of saidtank, a bottom belt made of annularly disposed joined sheets supportingsaid sidewall and receiving in conjunction with said annular beltstresses exerted on said tank sidewall, and means defining a bottom onsaid tank.

2. A large capacity metal tank according to claim 1 in which saidsidewall corrugations comprise cylindrical sections each having asubstantially semi-circular cross section joining adjacent ones of saidchannel forming corrugations, and axially coextensive therewith, saidcylindrical sections opening in a direction outwardly of said tank andeach having a radius smaller than the individual radii of saidcorrugations defining said channels.

3. A large capacity metal tank according to claim 1, including avertically extending cylindrical wall disposed Within said corrugatedside wall and forming therewith vertically extending cells disposedradially outwardly of said cylindrical wall, said cylindrical wall beingprovided with notches at its bottom edge allowing communication betweenthe interior of the tank and said cells.

4. A large capacity metal tank according to claim 1, in which said roofcomprises means defining a floating roof floatable on the liquidcontents of said tank, and means guiding the floating roof on saidsidewall for upward and downward travel when the level of said liquidcontents varies upwardly and downwardly, and seal means providing a sealbetween said floating roof and said sidewall.

5. A large capacity metal tank according to claim 4, in which said meansguiding the floating roof comprises a vertically extending cylindricalwall disposed within said corrugated side wall and forming therewithvertically extending cells disposed radially outwardly of said roof,said cylindrical wall being provided with notches at its bottom edgeallowing communication between the interior of said tank and said cells,and valve means on said annular belt Web portion to allow venting ofexpanding gases overlying the liquid contents of said tank between saidcylindrical wall and said corrugated side wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 644,119 2/1900 Witt 220-72775,894 11/1904 Chidister 220-71 786,338 4/ 1905 Zimmermann 220-721,011,209 12/1911 Killion 220-72 X 1,819,418 8/1931 Horton 220-261,864,931 6/1932 Pritchard 220-1 2,190,476 2/1940 Haupt et a1. 220-262,220,186 11/1940 Walker 220-1 X 2,598,160 5/ 1952 Gruenais 220-12,618,401 ll/1952 Wilkin 220-71 X 2,820,568 1/1958 Zick et al. 220-71 XFOREIGN PATENTS 1,214,533 ll/1959 France.

520,044 4/ 1940 Great Britain.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner J. R. GARRETT, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R. 220-71, 72

